The City of Nerima
by Pleeai
Summary: Bored now that the city of Townsville is thouroughly decrimed, the girls seek somewhere where they can be useful. Moving to Nerima, the girls make some new friends as trouble stirs. Sailor MoonRanmaPPG
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes:This is, beyond a doubt, the stupidest fic I've ever written, and probably ever will. But you know how it is when a crazy idea pops into your head and it just won't go away until you let it come out and make itself known? Well, I had this idea for a fic involving grown-up powerpuff girls in a crossover with a few different animes. Anyway, here it goes, my stupid fic.  
  
The city of Townsville . . . is terribly boring. Three teenage girls are sitting on their beds as summer rolls to an end, their new school supplies sitting in a tri-color pile on the floor. One, her long red hair pulled back from her hair with a crimson bow, sighs and looks out the window.  
"Gee, I almost wish their was another super villain threatening townsville." At sixteen, Blossom was quite pretty with large, pinkish eyes above an attractive pout.  
"Yeah, It sure is boring now that even Mojo is retired." Bubbles almost has tears in her baby blues as she brushes her blonde pigtails.  
Buttercup snarls and punches her pillow, "We need to find a city that needs a super hero."  
"Or three." Mutters Blossom.  
As one, the three girls sigh. Half heartedly, Bubbles glances about and spots the remote control for their television. Now that they were older, the girls' room was no longer spotted with toys. Now they had signs of their own individual hobbies.  
Blossom was now an avid athlete in her spare time, though she wasn't alowed on the school teams due to her super powers. Her corner of the room had basketballs and baseball bats etc. scattered about.  
Buttercup, surprisingly, had taken to science. She had an elaborate chemisty set next to a punching bag with her kickboxing clothes.  
Bubbles was, plain and simple, boy crazy. The fact that she was the prettiest of the girls, though they were all three attractive, had not gone unnoticed by the male populace of townsville.  
None of the girls had a boyfriend, but then, none of them had found anyone in Townsville they really liked. Thus, bubbles stopped channel surfing when the picture of a cute boy with a black pigtail popped up on the screen.  
The news anchor smiled charmingly out at the girls, "In contrast to Townsville's new peace (Thanks to the Powerpuff girls!), Tokyo Japan has recently been having peculiar problems with monsters, demons, and super powered people running amuck. The Japanese government claims they are at a loss for what to do. Though the same super powered citizens are keeping the problems at bay, government officials fear that the well-meaning citizens may not be able to keep up. In other news--"  
The girls shot up to their feet, grinning at each other. Blossom grinned and gestured wildly at the screen, "Hey, they need our help! I bet it wouldn't be boring in Tokyo!"  
Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, finally we can kick some more butt!"  
"And boy was that guy cute!"   
Bubbles giggled and blushed as her sisters gave her long suffering looks. "Well, he was."  
Blossom shrugged, "Well, yeah, but that's not the point! C'mon, let's go talk to the proffesor!"  
In pink, blue, and green streaks the girls zipped through the house and down to the laboratory. They landed one right after the other behind the man as he tinkered over somthing on the counter.  
Without looking up he asked, "Yes girls?" He wiggled something, tugged on another, then paused in thought.  
The girls smiled and exchanged glances, "We wanna move to Tokyo and fight the evil doers there!"  
He turned and stared at the three girls with there overly-cute pout/smiles and abnormally large eyes as they all three donned their "We're so cute how could you refuse us?" looks.  
Proffesor Utonium sighed as his shoulders slumped dramatically, worried for his girls, "I don't know girls. You don't know a word of Japanese, and what about Townsville?"  
Buttercup curled her lip back in disgust and waved a dismissive hand, "Aw, we haven't fought a single crime in years. Townsville doesn't need us anymore."  
Buttercup nodded enthusiasticly, "Yeah, and they *need* us in Tokyo, Proffesor. We're useless here, and in Tokyo they need some help. Please?"  
He sighed and looked from Blossom to Buttercup, then to Bubbles, who merely pouted cutely for her share of the argument. He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I'll look into it."  
  
"Well, we have three weeks for you three to learn Japanese, so I made a new invention to help you all out!" The proffesor began to fasten headphones to each of the girls' heads where they were lying on the three long couches down in the lab. Their expressions varied from wary to impatient to determined as the Proffesor fiddled with some dials.  
"Now just close your eyes and relax girls, and try to get some sleep if you want. In about an hour you should have a complete understanding of the Japanese language!"  
The three of them exchanged glances and Blossom shrugged, but Bubbles was the only one to actually get any sleep. She was still snoring softly when the Proffesor began taking their headsets off. Buttercup rolled her shoulders as they were a little stiff from sitting perfectly still for a whole hour.  
The proffesor smirked and stated in Japanese, How are you, Blossom?  
She shrugged, I'm fine Proffesor, see-- She stopped and stiffened, turning slowly to study her sisters as Bubbles sat up slowly and yawned, Buttercup grinning triumphantly.  
Hey! This is great Proffesor! You've outdone yourself!  
Bubbles looked back and forth between her sisters in shock as Blossom jumped up and ran to a dry erase board. The Proffesor cringed as she erased some equations and began scribbling in Japanese.   
Hey, we can write it too!  
The Proffesor stood straighter as if offended, "Of course, you will have to be going to school in Tokyo. How could you do that if you couldn't read and write in the native tongue?"  
Bubbles groaned, "But I don't wanna go to school! I wanna tour and go shopping!"  
Buttercup snorted, "You just wanna check out the boys."  
Blossum gave her a sister a pat on the shoulder, "Cheer up! There will be all kinds of boys our age in school!"  
"Be that as it may," the Proffesor said, "You girls might as well get started packing." He turned back to his latest experiment as the girls flew up to their room, bright sparkling light streams trailing behind them. The Proffesor chuckled at their excitement and picked up a beaker.  
  
"Don't think that because your humble features were plastered upon the television screens of millions of unsuspecting innocents that I have given any credence to the reports of your supposed heroism, Soatome."  
Ranma cast the older boy a disgusted look, "I never asked for all the attention Kuno."   
The older boy snorted and walked off. No, Ranma hadn't asked for the attention. Four more fiancees had shown up since, but thankfully none of them had been as determined as Ukyo, Shampoo, or Mr. Tendo. Ranma muttered and shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking out the school gates after his detention for being late to the first day of school.  
He was thinking to himself, wondering if he had any more potential wives out there. He jerked to a stop and barely missed a girl flying out of the ice cream parlor he was passing. He reached out and caught her shoulders just before she fell face first into the concrete. He righted her and he caught sight of her short, bluish-black hair for the first time.  
He jerked away and she almost fell again, "Oh, hey Akane, I'm sorry. I did'n mean nuthin!"  
She looked questioningly up at him and he realized that it was some other girl. "Oh, I'm sorry but my name's Ami. Thank you for catching me, and I'm sorry I ran into you, but I'm in a dreadful hurry."  
He waved a hand, "It's nuthin', just be more careful, okay?"  
She nodded with a smile and ran off. Ranma watched her with a perplexed look. The girl had looked a lot like Akane, but her personality seemed the exact opposite. With a shrug he continued off down the sidewalk, his thoughts quickly turning back to his women problems, the other girl quickly forgotten as he once again pondered how to get rid of two of his three main fiancees.  
Heck, if he could find a way to boot two of them out on the street, he'd just about settle for whichever of the three was left. His footsteps had the slightest hesitation, no, he wouldn't just settle. He knew who he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with. The problem was getting *her* to see it.  
Ranma shrugged mentally, Oh well. If there was one thing he'd learned from the art, it was when to be patient.   
He was nearly to the dojo when a car pulled up beside him on the street and the passenger window rolled down to show a red head smiling up at him.  
"Excuse me, but could you give us some directions? We're new in town."  
The driver was a serenely smiling man, a girl with short black hair and a frown sat in the backseat behind the redhead, next to a giggling girl with blonde pigtails.  
Ranma shrugged, "No prob, where ya 'lookin for?"  
The redhead turned to the man and snatched the paper he held out to her. She looked back at Ranma with a smile and handed him the folded scrap of paper. He took it and scanned it quickly, suddenly realizing that it was the very house next door to the dojo that had recently been put up for sale.  
He looked back at the girl with a lopsided grin, "Hey, this is next door to the house I'm stayin at. It ain't that far from here, actually."  
The man leaned over with a relaxed, casual smile, "Well then, if you want a ride, we would love a guide!"  
Ranma shrugged, "Sure, where ya want me to sit?"  
The man looked thoughtful, then nodded as he came to a decision. "You'd better sit up front by me." Since Ranma was watching the man, he missed the triumphant smirk the redhead shot the girls in the backseat, but her glee faded at the man's next remark, "Blossum, you hop in the back with your sisters and make room for the young man."  
Blossum, evidently the redhead, sighed and hopped over the seat as her sisters smirked at her. Ranma looked between the three with a smile for a greeting.  
He snorted, "Heh, you three don't look like sisters."  
Blondie giggled and batted her eyelids, "Silly, of course we are."  
He shrugged and turned back to the front as the man pulled from the curb. "I'm Ranma Soatome, heir to the Soatome school of Anything Goes."  
The man blinked once, then smiled, "What an interesting introduction! I am Proffesor Utonium. These are Bubbles, Blossum, and Buttercup."  
The girls nodded once each at their names. Blossum was smiling cheefully, but didn't appear more than friendly. Buttercup just appeared bored and sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Bubbles was still batting her eyes and giggling coyly. Ranma ignored her.  
Ranma pointed out another turn and the Proffesor took it while stating, "You said that it was where you were *staying*. Isn't that where you live, Ranma?"  
Ranma shrugged one shoulder, "Nah, Mr. Tendo (he owns the place) is an old friend of my Pop's. The two old goons decided before I was born that they wanted their two schools joined, so they promised that their future children would marry. So, Akane (that's Tendo's daughter) and I got engaged. So, Pop and I took a break in our training trip to come to the Tendo's."  
Ranma shrugged one shoulder again as everyone stared at him in amazement. He sat up a little, then pointed, "That would be your place, and that there is the Tendo Dojo where I live."  
The Proffesor parked the car and turned to Ranma while pulling out a slip of paper, "Tell me Ranma, do you know a Furinkan High School?"  
Ranma nodded, hand on the doorknob, "Yeah, that's where Akane and I go." He glanced at the girls, "Ya want me to show 'em the way tomorrow?"  
Blossom leaned forward, "Hey, that'd be real nice of you."  
Ranma smiled at her, "No prob, you three can walk with Akane and me. Nabiki too if she doesn't leave too early."  
So arrangements were made, and Ranma trotted over to the dojo. He poked his head in the kitchen door, "Hey, Kasumi?"  
She looked up from a cloud of flour, "Yes Ranma, what is it?"  
"Just met the new neighbors, they just got in." He jerked a finger toward the next door house. "Oh, and there're three girls that will be going to school with Akane and me tomorrow."  
Kasumi smiled and turned to face him fully, "Oh how nice of you to do the new neighbors such a favor, Ranma. I'll go over right now and invite them over for dinner!" She slipped off her apron and hung it up, "Could you please tell everyone to expect company?"  
He nodded and she practically skipped out the door. Ranma snorted, she was probably excited to have so much more cooking to do tonight. Ranma stuffed his hands into his pockets and went off in search of everyone to tell them about the dinner plans.  
  
Buttercup wrinkled her nose at the mint green walls. The Powerpuff Girls were trying something new in honor of their new home: seperate bedrooms. Luckily, their new house was more in the Western style than traditional Japanese. Thus, Buttercup was flitting about like a hummingbird while trying to decide how best to arrange her new, personal furniture.  
Finally, with a final nudge of the bed to straighten it, she decided she was finished. A flash of pink and Buttercup turned to see Blossum flying into the room.  
"Hey Buttercup--" Blossum froze, scanned the room, then began giggling.  
Butterfup frowned, "What's so funny?"  
Taking her sister's friend, Blossum giggled, "You've gotta see!" Still giggling, Blossum dragged Buttercup down the hall to the next door and threw the door open wide, gesturing within. "We arranged our rooms exactly the same!"  
Buttercup scanned the room skeptically, but finally had to agree. Down to the number and arrangement of posters on which walls and the placement of the bedside table, the rooms were identical aside from color. "Hey, you're right!"  
"Hey guys, the Proffesor said--Hey! My room looks just like yours, Blossum!"  
Buttercup and Blossum looked at each other, than started laughing. Finally, Bubbles put her hands on her hips and huffed, "As I was saying, the Proffesor says that the neighbors have invited us over for dinner, so we need to get ready he says."  
The girls split to their rooms, returning shortly in nearly identical outfits. Though the colors depended on which girl was wearing what, each wore a tight minidress very similar to the ones they wore when they were little with three vertical bands: the top and bottom bands would be either pink, blue, or green; with a black band over their stomachs. Now, instead of mary janes, they wore simple black slip on shoes.   
Together they flew down to the front door, where the Proffesor was waiting. "Well girls, let's go, we don't want to be late."  
And so the four of them stepped outside. The proffesor studied them for a moment, then cleared his throat. The girls stopped their conversation and turned their heads to study him. "Girls, this isn't Townsville. People here might not simply accept your powers. I suggest you walk unless you absolutely must fly."  
The girls all looked down to see that, indeed, they were all hovering a foot off of the ground. Blushing guiltily they lowered to the ground and the four of them began walking to their neighbors' place. Shortly they were knocking on the door of the Tendo dojo, and no more than a moment later a brown-haired girl opened the door with a smile.  
"Ah, welcome! Please, come in."  
"Greetings miss Kasumi." The Proffesor bowed to her, and the Powerpuff Girls giggled at his formal manner. Soon they were seated around a table set with food as people began piling in from every which direction. Bubbles grinned happily as she realized one of the few remaining seats was next to her as Ranma walked in with an older man in a gi from the backyard.  
Ranma studied the spot beside Bubbles for a moment, then sat beside the girl with short, blue-black hair. Bubbles' face fell for a moment, but she was soon smiling again as the man with the black hair, Mr. Tendo, cleared his throat.  
"It's a great pleasure for our new neighbors to be joining us for dinner. I'm Soun Tendo and these are my daughters Nabiki, Akane, and Kasumi. Akane's about your age I believe, but Nabiki and Kasumi are a bit older. And this is my good friend, Genma Soatome."  
The man who'd entered with Ranma bowed, "Greetings. This is my son and heir, Ranma."  
Ranma waved, "Yeah, we already met Pops."  
"Figures you'd have met three new *girls*, Ranma." Akane rolled her eyes, "I hear you'll be going to Furinkan with us? That's great, I'll show you guys around."  
Blossum smiled, "What kinds of sports does the school have?"  
The Proffesor cleared his throat, "Now Blossum, you know it isn't really fair for you to play any team sports."  
Ranma perked up slightly, curious. "Why's that? the coaches always want me or Akane, but I'm too busy training and all."  
"Well Ranma, you see, my girls are . . . different. They have some special . . . er . . . strengths that wouldn't quite make it fair--"  
Ranma waved a hand, "Oh, is that all? Big deal. Nobody 'round here would mind an extra hand at the tournaments and all. You wouldn't believe how bad the cheating can get."  
Buttercup shook her head, "You don't understand. You see, the whole reason we're here is because we took care of all the troublemakers back home and--"  
"Buttercup . . ." The proffesor's threatening tone stopped the green-clad girl, though she did sigh and sulk slightly.  
Akane shrugged, "Hey, you probably don't want to get into sports around here anyway. They get real dangerous. You could get killed, and I'm not exaggerating."  
Blossom smiled secretly, "Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine. Can't I just talk to a couple of coaches Proffesor?"  
He sighed and watched in amazement as Ranma and his father began battling for the last two pickles. Their speed and agility rivaled that of the girls. "We'll see."  
Author's Notes:  
Hey if anybody actually *liked* this, and wants me to keep it going, just send me an e-mail at: pleeai@excite.com  
  
Obviously, I don't expect a reaction, but I think it's a pretty novel idea, so who knows? It was really quite fun to write. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes:  
Yikes. I had chapter one of this fic up on my site for several months without a single reply. Within two days of posting it on fanfiction.net, I'd easily recieved fourty emails asking for further chapters. To tell you the truth, I was stunned. I'm not a great writer, and the story is kind of WAFFY for my tastes, but I guess you never know what's gonna be a hit. Just for kicks, I'd also like to see any fanart anybody might come up with. Can you imagine Ranma in the PPG style? Of the PPG in the Ranma style? Ooooh, gooody! If you come up with anything, send it to me at pleeai@excite.com  
Enjoy!  
Squeazing the water from her pigtail, Ranma muttered and tossed his Pop angry looks. How was he supposed to show those girls to school, if he was a girl? He sighed mentally. Not that it mattered anyway. He'd probably get splashed on his way to school at least once, no matter what.  
"Ranma, Mr. Soatome! Breakfast is ready!"  
Gender and problems thereof forgotten, Ranma practically teleported to his seat at the table. He had barely beaten his father there, so the usual battle quickly ensued and Ranma was swept up into the spirit of the battle! Sort of.   
He ignored the faint sound of knocking as his father swept in toward the last pickle. Leaping away with his trophy delicately grasped between his chopsticks, he called out midair, "Ha! Too late, Pops!"  
"Oof!"  
Ranma's expression swiftly changed from triumph to confusion as his landing seemed oddly off. Glancing down he saw his foot planted squarely on Buttercup's forehead, her sisters blinking in confusion in the dining room doorway.  
He jumped off and quickly helped the darkhaired girl to her feet, "Gee I'm sorry buttercup, are you okay?" He glanced around to make sure Akane wasn't seeing this.  
She brushed his hands away with a glare, "Yeah, yeah. And how do you know my name anyway?"  
REflex once again toook sway over Ranma. "Uh, Ranko, Akane's cousin." The reflex to insert foot in mouth.  
"Oh. Do you know where she and Akane are? They're supposed to walk us to school today, cause we're new."  
"Uh, let me go get them, k?"  
He shot into the kitchen, and splashed himself with the kettle simmering on the stove as he flashed by. Rushing up the stairs he knocked on Akane's door.  
"Akane, are you in there? The girls are downstairs and--" ONly then did it hit him. He slapped his forehead just as Akane opened her door.  
"Something wrong Ranma?" She glanced at the kettle in his hand and sighed. "They found out about the curse, didn't they?"  
He moved his hand slightly to uncover one eye, "Yeah and no."  
  
"I'm still not sure about this. What about the old woman?"  
"I know her house, you just keep the girls talking, and I'll concentrate on staying dry."  
"Are you ready Akane?"  
She turned and smiled at Blossom, "Yup! Just asking Ranma about some homework." She shot him amused glance, since they both knew that he was the one that always needed her help.  
The four and a half girls quickly set off down the street, Ranma receiving several odd looks as he frantically glanced around. Blossom, now debating the wisdom of her crush, leaned in to whisper to Akane.  
"Is he always this paranoid?"  
Akane glanced askance at her fiance and sighed, "No, but it has been awhile since anything outrageous happened. He's probably worried another fiancee will show up."  
Blossom glanced at Ranma and was about to reply when a peal of thunder sounded and the martial artist growled. Pausing on the sidewalk, he shook an angry fist at the sky and yelled, "Oh sure! Why not? Cursed Kami!"  
The three girls watched in shock as he then shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped off down the street, still muttering under his breath. After several feet, he seemed to notice that he'd lost his companions and turned to walk backwards as he shouted out to them.  
"Hey, are you guys coming or--"  
"Eep!"  
"What the . . ."  
Giggle.  
"Oh Ranma . . ."  
The martial artist, now female, was vibrating with suppressed rage. Eyes closed and teeth clenched he/she then through her hands into the air once more.  
"Couldn't it have been the rain?" She gestured to the old woman as she trundled back into her home, bucket of water over her arm.  
"Ranma, didn't I tell you to watch out for her? We don't have time to get you warm water, you're gonna have to go to school like that for now."  
He shot her an angry glare and retied the sash at his waist to hold the pants up. "Yeah yeah, I'll get some there." He looked at the stunned girls suddenly and bit his lip. "Uh, sorry about this. See I kinda have this curse see, and I don't really like people to know about it, so I kinda have this story I tell people about being Akane's cousin."  
Buttercup crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with being a girl?"  
"Yeah!" Both of her sisters chimed in.  
Ranma blinked, "Uh nothin' I guess, but I'm a guy." He shot Akane a wary glance, hoping he'd answered right.  
"In any case," Blossom chirped, "we should probably be getting to class."  
Akane nodded and started back down the street. Buttercup scoffed and stuck her nose up in the air before following. Blossom giggled and gave Ranma's arm a pat.  
"It's alright, it's a curse right? It isn't like you turn into a girl on purpose. I wouldn't want to become a boy."  
He smiled at her, realizing he was about her height when he was female. "Thanks!"  
"So how'd you get this crazy curse anyway?"  
"Well, see when Pop and I were on our training trip . . ."  
  
  
Akane rolled her eyes and tuned out the now too familiar story.   
"Akane? What's the school like?"  
She turned to the curious Blossom and smiled, "Well, it's definitely interesting. You just got to watch out for the boys. But don't worry, Ranma and I won't let anyone hurt you guys."  
Blossom had a curiously secretive smile and Buttercup grinned at her, "Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine."  
"What about sports? Will I really be able to play anything?"  
Akane waved a hand, "Oh sure. I play volleyball myself, and everynow and then I help out with other teams. Ranma and I have both helped with the cheerleaders and gymnastics teams for instance."  
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, "Ranma a cheerleader?"  
Akane shrugged, "Well, when he's a girl."  
Blossom and Buttercup exchanged glances and shrugged before Blossom said, "So how much further is it?"  
Akane gestured ahead of them, "Oh, it's just right up there."  
The girls looked ahead at the large building with the clock tower. "It looks nice," Blossom said.  
Akane sighed, "Looks can be decieving. Oh, if the Principal gets anywhere near you, come find Ranma and I okay? And be careful of Ms. Hinako too. I just hope we can keep Kuno away from you three."  
"Kuno? Who's that?"  
Akane glared at the school ahead, "He's a year ahead of us, and a real pain. He's a complete idiot! He swears he's in love with me and the 'pigtailed goddess' back there." She jerked a thumb toward Ranma. "We've tried countless times to explain Ranma's curse to him, but he just doesn't get it."  
The group passed through the gates and Akane glanced about. Seeing no sign of Kuno, she gave a relieved sigh and continued to the front doors.  
"Ranchan, Akane! What's up?"  
Akane rolled her eyes heavenward before turning to see Ranma greeting his favorite chef.  
"Hey Ucchan! These are our new neighbors. They just moved here from the United States. This is Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup."  
"Hiya! I'm Ukyo! Why don't you guys drop by my restaurant sometime? I'll give you a meal on the house!"  
Blossom smiled, "That's very generous of you! We'd love to stop by. I'm sure Ranma and Akane could tell us how to get there."  
Blossom turned to smile at her new friend, not sure why Akane seemed about ready to growl.  
"Sure thing! You'd better be getting to the office though. If you're late, Ms. Hinako will have a fit!"  
Ukyo waved goodbye and headed into the school. Ranma and Akane showed the girls to the office and left them there to get paperwork settled. As they walked up to their room, Akane glanced over at Ranma hesitantly.  
"Ranma, does something seem a little off about those girls?"  
He looked over at her, "I'm glad I'm not the only one. Sometimes I don't even sense them coming. It's like they barely touch the ground enough to make any noise. It's kinda freaky."  
"They seem very nice, it's just I get the feeling they're hiding something important."  
He nodded, "Yeah! I get that too. Anytime we mention anything physical, they get these smug expressions like there's nothing they can't do." He missed the ironic look Akane shot him. "I wonder if they're martial artists."  
Akane shook her head, "No, I don't think so. They don't move like it, you know? The way they stand and shift their weight, if they're martial artists they haven't had very good training."  
Ranma nodded, "You're right. Unless they're so good they can hide it."  
Akane rolled her eyes, "Don't look so excited Ranma. Besides, when you get so good, it's second nature to move like that. I think we'd know if they were trained fighters."  
"Yeah, it must just be something else then. That means we'll need to look out for them though."  
Akane nodded as they got closer to their classroom, "Yeah, Kasumi would kill us if we let something happen to the new neighbors."  
  
  
"So what did you think of your first day?" Akane smiled at Blossom.  
The blonde's smile wasn't quite so confident as she answered, "Uh, you were right, it was interesting . . ."  
"There you are Ranma! I've been looking for you!"  
"Aw man, Ryoga, why don't you give it a rest?"  
Bubbles shreiked as something whizzed past her head. Ranma, who'd been walking in front of her on the fence, reached out and snatched the umbrella from the air before turning to look behind him with a frown. The four girls on the sidewalk turned as well to see a boy about their age running up the sidewalk toward them.  
Bubbles froze and couldn't have moved any less if she'd been built into the sidewalk. He was gorgeous. And those muscles! Bubbles was in love.   
The newcomer stopped beside her to glare up at Ranma on the fence. "Come down here and fight me like a man."  
Ranma sighed, "Can't it wait Ryoga? I wanna get home. Not that it matters, we both know I'll win."  
Ryoga growled, "Not this time!"  
"Yeah right, P-chan! Besides, Akane and I have to show these girls home."  
Ryoga turned briefly and glanced at Bubbles, who blushed. Her sisters, seeing this looked at each other and groaned. "Grrr, Ranma, as if you didn't have enough beautiful girls after you, do you really need three more?"  
Bubbles sighed, he thought she was beautiful!!  
"They aren't after me, for once. They're our new neighbors and Akane and I are just showing them around a bit, okay?"  
Ryoga pulled off a bandanna and started spinning it, "Yeah right, Ranma. We all know what a womanizer you are."  
Ranma frowned down at Ryoga and dropped the umbrella to hold his hands in front of him, "Now hold up, bacon breath."  
"Don't call me that Ranma!" The bandanna went flying and the Powerpuff Girls' eyes opened wide as Ranma leaned to one side to dodge it with a casual frown.  
"You're gonna hurt someone P-chan!"  
Akane stepped forward with a glare, "Ranma, quit picking on Ryoga! You two can do whatever you want, I'll show the girls home. C'mon you three."  
Bubbles shook her head, "Wait, I wanna watch!"  
Akane glanced at her in confusion, "I wouldn't reccomend it, these guys get dangerous!"  
Bubbles took a few steps back, "I'll be fine."  
Blossom saw Akane about to comment and grabbed the girl's arm, "Don't worry Akane, Bubbles will be fine."  
Akane shrugged, "If you say so."   
The three girls wandered off and Bubbles turned back to the boys at the sound of a blow. She spun to see Ryoga with his forearms crossed over his face as Ranma sent blow after blow to the new boy. When he was finished, Ranma jumped back and landed in a pose straight out of a kung-fu movie. To her surprise, Ryoga now leapt forward to attack, but didn't seemt o be able to land a blow. She maneuvered around to stand behind an empty trashcan, hoping she was far enough away that she wouldn't be forced to use her powers.  
They weren't allowed to yet.  
Now Ranma was on the offensive as the two of them wove up and down the street, then from one side to the other. Finally, Ranma landed a hit that knocked Ryoga's legs out from under him. The boy barely kept his feet under him as he spun away. He came up out of it and ran off down the street.  
"Arg! Ranma, quit running away!"  
Bubbles blinked, "But, you didn't . . ." She turned to Ranma with a confused frown and he shrugged.  
"He's got a horrible sense of direction. He'll be in Kyoto by dinner."  
"Oh." She didn't like that idea. But surely the Professor could help somehow. After all, she couldn't have her future boyfriend getting lost before one of their dates.  
"Ready to head home?"  
She nodded and followed silenlty for several minutes before saying, "Ranma,how did you do all that? YOu know, the jumping and spinning and all. It was almost like you were flying."  
He grinned, "Nah, not flying. My school is just specialized in mid-air attacks and adaptability."  
"Oh." Darn. If he could have flown, then surely it would be alright for Bubbles and her sisters to fly too. Oh well, they'd figure something out.  
She waved goodbye when her new home came into sight and ran in quickly. She had to tell Blossum and Buttercup all about this. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know it's been awhile since I've updated, but my laptop went kaput last spring, and I was in finals by the time I got a new machine. Then I didn't have internet all summer, and now I'm in school again! Bleh! Anyway, I'm planning a complete overhaul of my site during winter break right after christmas. I should have a couple of weeks then before Spring Semester starts up, to do a nice redo of my site. When I lost my laptop, I was literally mid-upload on my site, so all kinds of files are gone, missing links, etc. It will get better! Around new years '04, be sure to check out www.pleeai.cjb.net!!  
  
As to the story, please review! And feel free to email me at pleeai@excite.com. And thanks to Joe Fenton for his reminder about the girls' abilities!  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
Buttercup stretched and sat up in bed with a loud yawn that ended in a wince as she glanced down at the bed. She smirked when she realized she was alone, only then remembering that they were in Japan now, and each of the sisters had their own room. Deciding she had woken up because she was thirsty, she got out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.  
  
"Bwee!"  
  
She turned in surprise at the frightened squeel,stooping to snatch up the dark blur mostly by reflex. Flicking the light on with her free hand, she smiled in pleasant surprise at the adorable piglet that she held by a bandana tied around its neck.  
  
"Huh, what are you doing here?"  
  
The familiar sound of three identical alarms going off in three differnt rooms of the house sent Bubbles flying up the stairs to Blossom's room. The piglet's surprised squeal sending the blonde into another round of giggles.  
  
"Blossom! Look what I found! He was in the kitchen, by the sink."  
  
"Bubbles! Not another animal, we just moved in ourselves!"  
  
Blossum sat up in bed, only then pulling her hand from the alarm button, to study the tiny piglet. "Hmm, it looks familiar. Hey! I know. Doesn't that look like the one Ranma's friend wore?"  
  
The little animal suddenly glared at Blossum, pulling away with a small snarl. Buttercup laughed, "I don't think he likes you! But I think you're right. I bet he does belong to Ryoga."  
  
The piglet suddenly flared a bright crimson.  
  
"I'll have to ask Akane how I can get ahold of him"  
  
A loud crash from the neighbor's yard caused a bright smile on Blossum's face as she announced, "It sounds like they're already awake!"  
  
Blossum watched her sister leave in a green blur before shrugging and getting up to get dressed.  
  
After literally flying through getting dressed and ready for school, Buttercup paused by the front door only long enough to land. Making her way next door by foot (if slightly faster than a normal teenaged girl) she announced herself as she ran into the house. the piglet was wide-eyed in shock as she finally came to a stop on the back porch.  
  
Buttercup froze as Ranma erupted from the pond in his female form, thowing a kick at the panda's mid-section.  
  
Panda?  
  
After a frenzied torrent of blows, the panda lay in an unconcious heap in the pond.  
  
"Uh, Ranma?"  
  
She looked up in surprise, "Buttercup! I . . . didn't know you were here."  
  
She smiled, "I just got here! That was amazing! I didn't think many people could do that kind of stuff!"  
  
She blinked, "Uh, no, most people can't." Her eyes fell on Buttercup's burden and he groaned, "Got yourself into more trouble, didn't you P-chan?"  
  
"Ranma! ARe you picking on P-chan again?" All eyes fell on a rather riled Akane as she stepped outside. When she noticed the piglet, she squealed happily and snatched it from Bubble's arms. "Oh thank you Buttercup! I've been looking all over for him!"  
  
"Oh, he's yours? We thought he might belong to Ryoga, since their bandannas match."  
  
Akane blinked then looked down at the sheepish pig, "You know, I never noticed it, but you're right."  
  
Bubbles sighed, "Alright, I should probably be heading home."  
  
Akane beamed, "Of course! And thank you for returning P-chan!"  
  
"No problem! I'll see you guys at school."  
  
"A piglet? I've never talked to a pig before."  
  
"Only you Bubbles, only you."  
  
Bubbles gave Buttercup her patented pout, "I could have told you who he belonged to, if you'd let me talk to him."  
  
"It doesn't matter now, Bubbles, The pig's with his rightful owner and we have to get to school or we'll be late."  
  
Buttercup sighed, "I wish we could get there the fast way! Walking down the streets takes too long."  
  
"You guys do roofhopping too?"  
  
The three girls turned to see Ranma and Akane walking up to them, and the teens quickly exchanged greetings before Blossum asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'roofhopping', Ranma?"  
  
He shrugged and jumped lightly onto the roof of the house that the girls shared with the Professor.   
  
"Like that. Just jumping from one house to the other. It's a lot faster, but some people get annoyed, and some of the neighbors have specifically asked us not to."  
  
He jumped down beside them, looking at their disappointed faces. "What's wrong?"  
  
Buttercup shrugged, "Oh, nothing. I'm surprised you can do that though. Can everyone around here jump that high?"  
  
"Nah, just a few of us. Ryoga, Ucchan, Shampoo, the old ghoul, Happy, Mousse." He paused to think and Blossum smiled.  
  
"And you Akane?"  
  
"Uh," the girl blushed, "Not as well as Ranma, but I can handle my own."  
  
"Oh. But it's just jumping really high, right?" Blossum asked, "No special abilities or anything?"  
  
"Nope, not really."  
  
"Oh. Uh, maybe we should be getting to school?"  
  
Akane yelped, "Oh my gosh, you're right! We're gonna be late!"  
  
And so the five teenagers arrived at the gates of Furinkan in a blur. Ranma screeching to a stop at the sight of a bandaged Kuno directly between Ranma and the door. With a long sigh, Ranma brought up his fists and dropped into a stance.  
  
"Alright Kuno, go ahead, I want to beat you and get to class."  
  
The older boy smirked, "I don't know what you mean, knave. You won't beat me."  
  
Ranma snorted, but hesitated as Kuno brought up his blade. It looked like a very sharp, very real, black katana with a dark red gem in the hilt. Just as the girls stepped into the gates behind him, Ranma yelled at them.  
  
"Akane! Hold up, Kuno's really lost it!"  
  
Kuno charged, slashing smoothly at Ranma with all his usual grace, but without the usual rage fueling him. Ranma did manage to move out of the way without any real effort, but was soon dancing around the dark arcs of the blade.   
  
"What are you thinkin, Kuno? Honestly, a real sword?"  
  
"Silence, fool, and taste the Night's Fang!"  
  
Akane rolled her eyes and pulled out her hammer, walking up behind Kuno with a frustrated frown. She raised the mallet, ready to bring it down on Kuno's skull as she often did. All eyes widened as Kuno spun away from Ranma, his katana embedding itself through the girl's heart. Kuno's eyes narrowed with a triumphant smirk on his lips, his eyes flashing like the gem in his sword, before rolling back in his head as he fainted on the sidewalk.  
  
Ranma shoved the boy's form away, reaching for the sword in Akane's chest with a horrified expression as Blossum and her sisters huddled over him and Akane.  
  
His hand closed over the hilt as a feminine voice cried out, "Wait!"  
  
Ranma's hand remained on the hilt as he glared up at the voice's owner. Four girls ran up to him, and he couldn't help but blink. They wore very revealing outfits resembling sailor suits. One had short blue hair much like Akane's. The second had long ebony hair hanging loose down her back. The next wore her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. The final girl wore hers in peculiar pigtails with buns at their bases.  
  
It was the girl with the blue hair that gently placed her hand over Ranma's on the sword as she whispered, "If you remove the sword, you'll kill her!"  
  
He glanced down at Akane, but the girl continued, "Don't worry, we've been looking everywhere for this blade! There's an evil sorcerer that's been using it to steal energy from innocent people. The moment you take the blade out of her, all of her energy will drain into the sword and she'll be lost."  
  
Blossum took a small step forward, "Then what can we do?"  
  
Now the girl looked sheepish, "I'm not quite sure. But we're working on that, and I believe we can save her if we leave the sword in her for the moment!"  
  
"Wow," Buttercup muttered, "That news report wasn't kidding! Strange stuff does happen in Japan."  
  
"I'll take her somewhere safe, and as soon as I know something--"  
  
"No!" Ranma snapped, "Akane's gonna stay where I can protect her."  
  
The girl with the weird pigtails huffed angrily, "Don't you know who we are? I'm Sailor Moon, the champion of love and justice! If the Sailor Scouts and I can't take care of her and protect her, what makes you think you can!"  
  
The brunette hissed, "Sailor Moon!"  
  
"I don't care who you are," Ranma snarled as he jumped to his feet, "I'm Ranma Soatome, heir to the Soatome school of Anything Goes! I haven't lost a fight yet, and I know I can protect Akane! I've done it before, and I'll do it this time!"  
  
The girls in the strange uniforms, the so called 'Sailor Scouts', glanced between each other before Sailor Moon sighed.  
  
"Fine. I guess her parents should at least know what's going on. Can you take us to her place?"  
  
Ranma nodded and gingerly knelt to pick Akane up. He was carefully cradling her while warily watching the sword. Bubbles stepped up and reached a hand up to support it.  
  
"I'll keep it from moving much, but walk slowly, 'kay?"  
  
He nodded and gave her a very weak smile before starting forward. It was Bubbles who pointed down at a snoring Kuno.  
  
"Uh, what about him."  
  
Ranma snapped his head around to glare down at him, "I don't care what happens to him! What was he thinking?"  
  
"He wasn't," answered the blue haired girl as the brunette struggled to pick up Kuno's long frame, "He was under the sword's control. that's why we've had a hard time catching the sorcerer. We'll explain when we've gotten the girl comfortable, okay? But we really should bring him too, just in case."  
  
Ranma nodded warily, then silently set off for the dojo again. 


	4. Chapter 4

"So let me get this straight. You think someone that has something to do with the rest of your former enemies is behind this."  
  
Mercury nodded as she took Akane's vitals, "Yes. The energy source of the sword is very similar. It's the third one we've found, and combined they've claimed twenty-three lives."  
  
"How, exactly?"   
  
Ranma had nearly forgotten the presence of his neighbors until Blossum spoke up. They seemed to be taking this surprisingly well.  
  
It was Sailor Moon that answered, "The sword waits until someone picks it up, and starts taking over their minds. In a few hours, the poor sap is a raving lunatic that will fight just about anybody."  
  
"It's usually someone the person already had a grievance with, though," muttered Jupitor from her spot by Kuno on the dojo floor.  
  
Moon nodded and continued, "Yeah, so the person starts swinging the sword around in a blind rage 'till they hit something."  
  
Mercury finally looked up from Akane with a serious expression, "That's the real problem. Mr. Kuno here will be perfectly fine when he wakes up. Akane, aside from the obvious wound, is in much more danger. The sword will slowly sap her of her soul, or spirit, or whatever you wish to call it. There's a tie between the blade and Akane. Suddenly severing that tie will kill her."  
  
Ranma, blind as he usually was in such matters, suddenly realized that these girls must have lost someone close to them that way. "So, what do we do?"  
  
Mercury sighed, "We're working on a time frame here. We have until the sword has completely drained Akane's spirit. If we can sever the tie before then, she'll be fine."  
  
"So how do we do that?"  
  
The girls looked at each other and Moon answered, "Find the one making the swords. He, or she, must have a reason for collecting the souls. The swords themselves don't store any energy, so it has to be sent somewhere."  
  
Mercury nodded, "We haven't been able to get a firm trace, but we've slowly been making our way here, to Nerima. I think it must be somewhere near here, but it's hard to tell without enough data."  
  
"Basically," Moon muttered, "We have to track down the sword-maker-guy and find out where it came from."  
  
"So why not ask the people who've been hacking their enemies up where they got their weapons."  
  
Moon frowned, "Because most of them don't survive."  
  
Venus piped up, "It seems to have a very draining effect on the wielder as well as the victim. One small girl is in the hospital, there are a couple that simply found them on the street, and one young man bought it in a market."  
  
Ranma frowned down at his fiancee, unsure of how to continue. He didn't know anyone that could make swords, or knew much about magic. Cologne and Happosai knew bits and pieces, but he doubted they'd be boatloads of help with this. It was probably over their heads.  
  
"Alright, how can we help?" The redheaded blossom was staring stoicly at Sailor Moon as if she dealt with cursed swords every day.  
  
Ranma held a hand up, "Hold it, you girls would be a lot safer if you stayed out of this. You're not even martial artists."  
  
Buttercup snorted, "We're better than martial artists."  
  
Bubbles waved her hands frantically and whispered, "Buttercup! Shhhh, you know we're not supposed to say anything! What if the Professor finds out?"  
  
"Found what out," Sailor Mars asked suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, my!"  
  
Sailor Mercury received curious glances from her fellow scouts, and startled ones from the Nerima gang, since her cry was so like Kasumi's usual response.  
  
Sailor Moon cocked her head, "What is it, Mercury?"  
  
"I . . . I'm not sure, but these girls aren't, well, normal."  
  
Blossum sighed, "That's what the Professor doesn't want us talking about. You see, we came to Japan because we saw on the news that there were a lot of mysterious bad guys, monsters, and such here, and the locals were having a hard time."  
  
"No we aren't," Chirped Ranma and Sailor Moon.  
  
Blossum chuckled weakly, "Uh, yeah. You see, my sisters and I are known back home as The Powerpuff Girls. We were the superheros of Townsville, and we'd pretty much cleaned it out, so we thought we'd be more useful here."  
  
"Ah, that would explain a couple things."  
  
All eyes turned to Ranma, and Blossum asked in surprise, "What do you mean. We've been pretty careful . . ."  
  
He shrugged, "Well, yeah. But, you girls walk real . . . confident-like. Like you're real sure of where you're going. But you don't have the balance and gait of martial artists. And I've had this weird feeling about you ever since we met, Akane did too . . . er, we knew you weren't trouble, just, well, different."  
  
"Wow, I'm impressed."  
  
Buttercup snorted, "I'm not. I know some martial arts."  
  
Ranma smirked, "Of course you do."  
  
Sailor Mercury stepped between Buttercup and Ranma with her hands out, "Hold it! No fighting. There's a girl's life on the line, and there may be more swords making it out into the populace as we speak!"  
  
Blossom frowned, "How do we find this Swordsmith, then."  
  
Mercury nodded her thanks for the return to sensical conversation, "We have a few options, just not very good ones. First, we wait for The Smith to make himseslf known. When he's gathered enough energy, it is very likely he'll do so. We just don't know how much energy he'll need."  
  
"Second, I've been analyzing the energy, and I can track it, just not too reliably. I can narrow down our search radius a bit at a time, and the more we look, the more I'll be able to fine tune the search. This will take time though."  
  
Ranma nodded, "And that's something we don't have a lot of."  
  
"Right, Ranma. Third, there's always research. Even with magic, swords have to come from somewhere. Somebody's buying up metals, expensive ones, and rubies for the hilt. I think the gemstone is like an antenna that transmits the energy back to The Smith. I can move my attention away from the search for the energy signal, and try finding out who's been buying large quantites of these supplies, and also has the capability for crafting swords."  
  
The pigtailed boy shook his head, his trademark hairdo swishing across his back as he answered, "No, you work on the energy stuff, I got someone much better suited for your research, especially if it's a Nerima guy."  
  
Mercury blinked, "Really? Oh. Well. In that case, I'll need to meet with this person to swap information--"  
  
"Ranma! What did you do to my sister this time?!"  
  
He smiled weakly at Mercury with a wince, "Uh, heh, guess you'll get your chance.  
  
A/N: Alas, another short chapter, but this seems a good place to end for now, and I wanted to let people know I'm still alive. I would like to work on this story a lot over the summer, and I'd like suggestions! Let me know what you think! 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, a new chapter. Huh. It's kinda short, but I needed to get back into the swing of the story. It's still the most insane thing I've ever written, but

"No problem."

Mercury blinked, "Er, I understand if it's a lot of information. I'd prefer quality over timeliness, so don't rush."

Nabiki raised one eyebrow and stared at the girl, "My sister is lying there while the new neighbor braces up a sword sticking out of her chest. I'll have the info here by morning, lunch at the latest." The middle Tendo daughter turned on her heel with military precision and disappeared from sight, the sound of her door closing down the hall signaling the apparent beginning of her long night of research.

Bubbles shivered from her spot beside Akane on the bed, "Scary! Is she always like that."

Ranma frowned, "Nah, she's usually worse. She didn't even charge us!. She must be pretty worried."

Mercury nodded, but her expression was gradually losing its calm mask with each passing moment in this insane household. "Right. Look, this room is getting pretty crowded. I need to go begin scanning for the Swordsmith, and I should take a couple people with me. Akane needs a couple people for protection. Sailor Moon and I--"

"Hold it, if you find this Swordsmith, there's gonna be a fight, right?"

Sailor Moon shrugged, "Well, maybe."

Ranma gave a decisive nod and slammed one fist into his open palm, "Then I'm going with you, er, Mercury."

Jupiter nodded excitedly, "Yeah, me too!"

Mercury frowned, "You're the best fighter, Jupiter, you should probably stay here to protect Akane. That way if anyone tries to attack or reclaim the sword, there will be less property damage." Ranma snorted, wondering how long it had been since anyone had worried about property damage at the Tendo's, except maybe Soun.

Sailor Moon nodded, "Yeah, Venus should go with you, too. She may be able to restrain the Swordsmith with her Chains, and my healing may help here."

Sailor Mars nodded, "I think I had better go try another fire reading. Maybe with a stable victim to focus on I can have better luck."

The Sailor Scouts nodded, and then turned to the rest of the room's occupants. Blossom stepped forward and gestured toward her house, "The Professor may be able to help. He's more experienced with science than magic and spiritual stuff, but you never know. Buttercup can help him. Bubbles, stay here to help defend Akane. I can go with Mercury, Venus, and Ranma. Her abilities will probably be a big help, and that way we can all keep in contact at least sporadically."

Mercury frowned, "What do you mean, 'keep in contact'?"

Blossom waved a hand, "We can all explain later. For now, we really need to get going."

Sailor Moon nodded, and everyone went their separate ways. Mars ran off in the direction of Juuban, Blossom to the house next door, and the scanning team out to the street.

"So which way, Mercury?"

The blue-haired girl that Ranma could almost mistake for Akane pulled out her small computer before answering her blond friend's question. "I know the signal is somewhere in this direction, between here and Juuban. That doesn't narrow it down too much, but it's more than we had yesterday."

Blossom leaned over and studied the translucent projection of a map hovering over the tiny computer. "I don't know this area very well yet. But, if we're trying to narrow it down, and we already know that it's between Juuban and this dojo, why not try and cement one other edges of the search area."

Mercury nodded, "That's as good as any other plan. The best bet is to just keep moving in a straight line until I know we're out of the signal's range."

Ranma pointed up and nodded his head down the street, "Then let's take to the roofs and just go down the street."

Venus frowned slightly, "That's well and good in theory, but how do we plan on getting you two onto the roof? I don't plan on carrying a civilian around all night, and . . ."

The blond's jaw dropped as Ranma casually jumped up onto the roof. Seeing what Ranma was up to, Blossom quickly followed suit and lifted up as well. Mercury and Venus shared stupefied glances before shrugging and jumping up beside their two companions for the search for the mysterious Swordsmith.

When all four were on the roof and had quickly agreed on a direction, they took off. Following the street, they were soon out of sight.

Buttercup appeared in the Professor's lab in a blast of green light that cast the entire room in an unearthly glow for a moment. The man with salt and pepper hair and a crisp white lab coat carefully tipped the test tube and counted out two drops before glancing about the table.

Not looking up from his work, Professor Utonium asked, "What is it, Buttercup?"

"Uh, well, we came here to help, right? Because it's our duty to use all of our special abilities to make this world safer and better, right? And, really, that should be first priority, right? I mean--"

"What happened and how many people know about your powers?" He selected a round piece of paper and dropped it onto the small scale in front of him. Zeroing the scale he picked up a glowing jar and began unscrewing the lid, despite the many warning labels plastered all over it.

"Uh, you're not mad?"

The Professor shot her a brief, though genuine, smile, "Of course not! I know why we're here, Buttercup, I just wanted you girls to have a chance at being normal teenagers for a change. I thought it would be easier for you three to make friends that way."

Buttercup thought about fuku-wearing superheroes and gender-changing martial artists, and wondered what passed for normal here in Japan. "Uh, right. Normal."

"Well, how many and what's wrong?"

"Oh, there's some crazy sorcerer making magic swords and stealing energy with them for some reason, and it's killing and hurting a lot of people. Oh, and just Akane and Ranma from next door, and some superheroes from the next district."

"Ah, that's nice. Did you bring the sword for me to study?" He looked up hopefully.

"No, we can't remove it without killing Akane."

"Isn't that the neighbor girl?"

Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, she's the one with the latest sword in her."

"Ah. Then we'd better go there to study it. Grab the Spectral Meter there, Buttercup. Hmmm."

The two quickly began gathering strange and elaborate pieces of scientific equipment. With Buttercup's super speed, they were very soon heading back to the Tendo compound.

Bubbles sighed, once again feeling left out. She didn't even get to go with the hunky Ranma! Now here she was with this 'Sailor Moon' girl. Bubbles glanced sideways at the girl, watching as Moon tugged a pleat into place, then glanced around in boredom from her seat in Akane's desk chair.

It was too quiet for Bubbles, "I love your hair."

Moon beamed, "Thanks! I work really hard on it, but I've been really busy lately."

Bubbles nodded, "I understand that, believe me. I wish I could grow mine out that long, but it gets in the way when I fly."

"Really? Your sister's (Blossom isn't it?), is almost as long as mine."

"Yeah," Bubbles agreed, "but she pulls it back to help, and it still gets all tangled in fights. She'll spend hours combing it out after a battle. Besides, the pigtails are kinda my thing, and they're more exposed to the wind."

"I can see that. Hmm, have you thought about braided pigtails?"

Bubbles wrinkled her nose, "Yeah, but the make me look like a little baby!"

Moon brought a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she tapped her red boot on the floor, "There's gotta be something you can do! I can imagine the tangles though! Just jumping and running around will make a mess of my hair sometimes, and I don't even want to think of flying!"

Bubbles sighed and Sailor Moon immediately wanted to cheer the other girl up. "Well, at least you don't have to wear these outfits! They're cute enough, but I get the grossest looks from perverts sometimes!"

"Aren't you the leader? Why not decree a change in uniform?"  
Moon sighed, "I'm the leader, but we didn't have any say in our outfits, they kinda come with the office."

Bubbles blinked, not exactly sure what the other girl meant. "The boots are great though!"

Moon smiled and extended a red clad calf, "Thanks! The heels are hard to fight in though. I pity poor Venus in those pumps of hers."

Bubbles nodded emphatically, "I can only imagine! We wear these flats just for that reason! Or tennis shoes, sometimes, but we are pretty limited by our uniforms here."

"Here?"

"Yeah, my sisters and I just moved here." Bubbles was just getting to her first encounter with Ranma the day before when Buttercup and the Professor finally returned with a mountain of complicated-looking equipment. Moon and Bubbles shared a glance before casually stepping further away from the sudden conversation of theorems, energy readings, and equations coming from Buttercup and the Professor.

A/N:Okay, there we are. I know it's short, but I really think there are some cute character interactions going on. I should hopefully be able to start writing again, since I'm graduating next week. It won't be a lot, since I have to move, plan a wedding, and find a job, but it will be more than I've done in a long time now.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Pleeai


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